Capitalism and Christianity

Dr. Brett Andrews, the Vice President of Academic Program Development, gave the following speech in celebration of Christianity and capitalism at The Keating Center Dedication Chapel.

As I look around today, I see that a Former Oklahoma Governor, a former First Lady, a sitting congressman, a university President, major corporate entrepreneurs and CEO’s surround me. It takes a special man of incredible influence to gather together these types of individuals. In the short time I’ve been acquainted with the Governor, I’ve never met a more humble and kind man.

Students, we are gathered here today to honor our former Governor and his wife. A man whose service as Governor, his experiences within the insurance and banking industries, stand out as a voice—a clarion call, if you will, championing the ideas and ideals of capitalism and free market economics.

In more recent memory, capitalism has accounted for some of the greatest triumphs for freedom in history:

The liberation of 100 million people in Eastern Europe from Soviet-imposed communism in 1989

The defeat of Iraqi aggression in the Persian Gulf in 1991

The wholesale collapse of communism in the Soviet Union in December of 1991

And the mass movement toward capitalist policies in nations as different as Sweden, India, France, and even China.

Yet at a time when our nation should be celebrating victory, we stand at a precipice—whether we will embrace the time-tested ideas that have proven to work or choose an alternative.

History tells us that governments are incapable of running an economy, or of picking winners and losers in cutting-edge industries and technologies. Most importantly, governments are incapable of transforming the nature of human beings. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to change the sinfulness of man through the message of the Gospel. As John Adams wrote in 1798, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

That’s why I believe that it is providential that the Keating Center designed to promote capitalism, free enterprise, and constitutional liberty, has been established at Oklahoma Wesleyan University—a university that stands unapologetically for the truth of Jesus Christ and the truth of scripture.

Governor and Mrs. Keating, on behalf of the students, staff, and faculty of Oklahoma Wesleyan University—thank you.

Dr. Andrews is currently serving as the Vice President for Academic Program Development, Dean of the School of Business, and Professor of Management
He has earned a B.S., Northeastern State University; M.B.A., Oral Roberts University; and Ph.D., Walden University. Courses Dr. Andrews teaches include Strategic Management, Negotiation Strategy, Executive Development, Leadership & Ethics, and Human Resource Management.